With the Thread of My Memory:I Will Hold You
by Reizaki
Summary: Nothing stops a tree from shedding its petals...not even the two figures standing on the bridge of memories...so close are they between the wall, yet so far when they surface the world...AU...8059... HIATUS
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer: **All rightful characters are owned by their rightful owners, namely Amano Akira_

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_**Prologue**_

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_Petals of the cherry blossom tree fell like dying flames on the water's surface. The Moon stared bleakly at its own reflection, sometimes becoming disfigured by movement in the river. There was the distant ring of history behind the wooden bridge as it creaked softly with the voices of the wind. _

_From the sky, the beating of wings could be heard, and all of a sudden a figure cast a shadow on the bridge. He had a passive expression on his face and smiled, feeling the wind run through his ebony hair. But the moon exposed his true feelings with its light, as his eyes glinted with a sorrowful glow._

_"When will it be when someone sees me?" He questioned to the expressionless moon, but regretted it soon after when he felt a familiar presence behind his back. There was a low growl of warning._

_"Even if there was someone, you aren't to go near them." _

_"I know."_

_He looked up at the fading stars. Dawn was near. They're going to wake up soon._

_"I know, Hibari."_


	2. Trying not to falter

_**Chapter 1**_

_-Trying not to falter-_

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_...I can hear something...a melody played on...the koto?*...and the sounds of suzu* too...is it calling me?_

Clover-coloured eyes blinked at the ceiling, fdotted by sunlight filtering through the patterned curtains. Swallows piped their tune as an alternative to Gokudera's silent alarm; however they ended it abruptly as he sat up on his bed. To his shock, Gokudera felt wet tears slide down his pale cheeks.

_What the fuck am I crying for?_

He rubbed his eyes quickly feeling embarrassed and threw the blanket off his body. On the way to his wardrobe, he unconsciously picked up his mobile and selected the envelope image on the menu screen.

Halfway through dressing, he noticed the message he was texting.

Gokudera laid his thumb on the keypad for a second and then saved the unfinished message. He slipped the mobile into his pocket, letting his charms dangle out and as he did, he opened a drawer from his bedside table. In the shelf, there was a small box wrapped with a white ribbon.

He looked at his calendar, where a red loop had been circled around the date for tomorrow. Gokudera sighed and closed the drawer with slight hesitance, before heading downstairs to the kitchen.

The usual hum of the refrigerator greeted him as he opened the door and grabbed a sliced beef sandwich he had made earlier that night. There was this month's issue of the 'S'ONGWORLD' catalogue on the table and he flipped through the pages of new artists while eating.

His hand stopped at a page featuring an artist called 'TOMOYA' who had debuted recently. The single he debuted with was called 'Eternal Bond' and had been dedicated to someone, but as to whomf, it was unknown. It featured the use of a koto, which was extremely rare and also that he had composed the song himself.

_The koto..._

Gokudera tugged at a fading memory in his mind but it vanished at the sound of UVERworld's GO-ON.* The small screen on the front of his mobile read 'Sawada Tsunayoshi' and he flipped it open to answer.

"Ohayo* Gokudera-kun, are you alright now?"

"I'm fine, I'm just eating breakfast."

"At this time!? You haven't forgotten...have you?" Tsuna's voice was hinted with suspicion.

It came to him a split second later and he swiftly shut the magazine, threw it somewhere while shoving down his sandwich and did a spot check of the room, to make sure there wasn't anything on that could cause a fire.

"Sorry, I'll meet you in 15-20 minutes" he told Tsuna and hung up as he grabbed his chequered house keys and locked the house, before running to the train station. Gokudera swiped his PASMO* card over the sensory device and ran down the stairs, hearing the about-to-depart train jingle.

_Gokudera, hurray up! It's the jingle!_

His footsteps faltered a little and it seemed as if he was going to miss the train, but seeing Gokudera, the railway signaller stopped the train for a few seconds and that was enough time to hop on. He gestured a quick thanks to the man who waved in return and then the student sat down, putting his skull headphones on.

Instead of blasting music like he usually did, he put the volume just around halfway. He was always curious about what other people had to say and just listening to people on the train was a great way of gathering gossip.

Opposite to him, there was a group of teenagers mourning about the death of…_hm? TOMOYA? Isn't that the guy I read about earlier? What, he died!? But didn't it say he debuted recently? S'ONGWORLD comes out every 20__th__ so it must be a bit before that…_

Gokudera suddenly wanted to switch the mute control on his ears or more erase the memory of what he had just heard.

He turned the volume up on his headphones until it was at full blast. The people around Gokudera started looking awkwardly at him. But he didn't care. All he wanted to do was to seize every voice and noise there was in the train, scrunch it all up and shove it in a hole. But the words just kept ricocheting around in his mind.

To his relief he heard the call of the stop he wanted to get off and speedily made his way out of the train. As he climbed the descending stairs because of his impatience, Gokudera spotted the small figure of Tsuna being hassled by some older students. He sped through the card swiping area almost catching the eye of a security guard and charged towards the large bodies.

"Get your fucking hands off my friend or I'll fucking shove this up your arse," Gokudera yelled, holding sticks of dynamite between all of his fingers.

"Heh whatever man. I bet they're just some cheapos off a kid's party bag," the leader smirked, showing his pure white teeth.

But Gokudera just laughed mockingly. He took out a cigarette from its packet and lit it with a clear blue lighter. Some of the gang members developed sweat on their foreheads and were looking at each other as if Doomsday had come.

He took a long breathe and blew out smoke onto the leader's face, who coughed and spluttered like he had never been exposed to the smoke of tobacco. When the smoke had cleared up, the dynamites in Gokudera's hand were all dazzling away with sparks.

"You still think they're toys, huh?" He stepped closer to them with the lit dynamites and the leader hastily signalled for the others to run and take cover.

"Gokudera-kun! Hurray and throw them outside!!!" Tsuna shouted with a terrified look on his face as the ends of the dynamites grew smaller and smaller.

"It's alright; they're fakes that I made just in case we get caught in situations like this," Gokudera told the shaking student, who instantly relaxed and returned to the cheerful smile on his face.

"You had me there for a second!" Tsuna laughed but as he looked at his watch, his grin dropped. "Oh my god! It's already 10:30! We have to get back at 12 to help set up!"

The two sprinted out of the station and paced themselves down the street. Since it was a weekday, there were not as many people roaming around except for the occasional mob of high-schoolers enjoying the week off. Gokudera eyed one who had been staring at him like a retarded jackass but before the things started getting heated, Tsuna pulled him away. Soon after they arrived at a shop called 'Wa no Musou'* and both of them with slight embarrassment, entered into its domain.

"Welcome!"

They found themselves surrounded by a whole range of kimono* and yukata* in different styles, patterns and colours, as well as a favourable display of obi* and geta.* The shop itself was built modelling the architecture of a pre-classical Japanese house and it certainly didn't fail to make the customer feel almost at home, and become absorbed in the presence of an ancient history.

"What sort of colour do you want Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked as he shifted through some yukatas on the rack.

"Something that doesn't stand out too much. Like black or navy," he replied knowing that just the thought of wearing a brilliant white or flaming red yukata was enough to make him pass out. Not that he hated those colours.

Tsuna looked at what colours were offered but found that even if the colour matched Gokudera, the ornament on it didn't seem to possess a similar character to his.

This might take longer than he thought it would.

"Do you need some help?" A young man in his early 20's with deep gold hair asked politely with a warm smile. He wore a jet-black yukata with a golden dragon, trailing its tail to his back but he almost didn't need the stitching since his left arm was covered with rather 'hardcore embroidery.'

"Um yes, thank you. Well my friend here wants a yukata for the Tomoshi-zakura Hanami Festival* tomorrow but we really have no idea what colours work best and...." Tsuna trailed off, noticing the worker's name badge and wasn't surprised to see a non-Japanese name.

"Oh if you're wondering about my name, my parents are both Italian but I grew up here most of my life."

The student nodded comprehendingly. "My friend's from Italy too, right Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna turned around to him, only to find that Gokudera was gazing at the men's yukata with extreme interest and hadn't heard a word.

The worker chuckled. "Your friend's quite curious about yukatas eh? Let's help him out then."

Tsuna followed him to the fascinated-wide-eyed Gokudera who was now looking at the fine embroidery on one of the displayed yukatas. He didn't even notice them behind his back until the worker announced his presence.

"Dino Cavallone's here to help you, Gokudera-kun!" Dino said in a loud voice right beside Gokudera's ear, whom looked at him with a death stare.

"For you I reckon a black yukata, white obi and a pair of black geta. Maybe, this one?" He pulled out a yukata hidden between several other black ones. It had elaborate cherry blossom petals embroidered here and there, making it seem as though the yukata itself was dancing with the petals. He also brought a white obi which had silver embroidery of scenery with mountains and the sky, and a pair of black geta which had a silver lines on the hanao.*

"That's so beautiful! Gokudera-kun you have to wear it!"

Gokudera however felt hesitant. The pale pink petals were bothering him a little. Maybe because pink was a stereo typical women's colour or he just didn't like the idea of pink altogether.

"Come on, the change rooms are over there. I'll help you put it on," the worker grinned but Gokudera seemed to take it into different terms.

"No way in hell am I changing with some random guy who I've known for 5 minutes!!!"

"10 minutes, but hey 10 minutes, 10 seconds, it's all the same. Quit complaining and come here." Dino dragged the shouting and flailing Gokudera to one the spacious change rooms. For a second, Tsuna looked a little worried but in less than 3 minutes they were out again and Gokudera looked as if he had come out of a pro Kabuki* performance group minus the inches of make-up. Dino turned him round to face the full body mirror and Gokudera couldn't help but look surprised.

_This isn't too bad...I actually quite like it..._

"Do I see a smile on that furrowed brow face of yours?" The worker smirked in a satisfying manner and Gokudera tinged the slightest red and looked the other way. There was something different about this yukata, this person and place. It made him feel like all the wounded memories were becoming scabs and that he didn't have to control the bleeding. It just stopped the moment he came in this shop and for once Gokudera felt like he was talking with his own voice.

"It's alright I guess. I'll take it."

"An alright for you is a fantastic for me. Great! I'll put it on the counter. Did you want a yukata too, Gokudera's friend?"

"How in the hell do you kno-" Gokudera started, his good thoughts about the worker completely vanished and was replaced by thoughts about shotakon.*

"Yes I do so could you please help me?" Tsuna interrupted, already foreseeing Gokudera's reaction with an inner sigh of weariness, as much as he liked Gokudera being happy.

"Your wish is my command. Now let's see." Dino eyed the small student almost analysing him up and down, side to side and every angle he could. But he seemed as if he were staring past Tsuna, past the form in front of him, but into the crevices where only Tsuna should be allowed to pass. His heart started to crack the whip and become faster; anxiety pushed heavily upon him as if a 1 tonne anxiety weight had fallen from the sky and smashed onto Tsuna's back.

He felt relief when Dino stopped peering into his heart and asked a question.

"What's your name boy?"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Dino rested his chin between his thumb and index finger. "Tsunayoshi-kun. Tsuna-kun?" The worker liked a short, choppy name. His tongue worked well round them. Not like they knew what happened when he made a long speech; the audience by the end looked as if their brows had been permanently wrinkled.

"Everybody calls me that, but please call me whatever you like."

"Ok Tsuna-kun, I think I know what the perfect combination for you is."

"Already?" Tsuna found it incredible the way people could work out what suited a person just by looking at them a little, but in this case, Dino seemed to do more then just look at his appearance. Now, Tsuna too agreed silently with Gokudera that they had to be careful with this person but knowing himself, he would forget about being cautious in the next 5 seconds.

"Because you told me your name, I was able to fully work it out." Dino stated as if it were the most normal comment that a normal person could make.

His eyebrows rose up in surprise again. "Are names important in choosing a yukata?" It was a strange question to ask, knowing that the yukata would usually depend on the body shape and skin colour of a person, not their name. Though he couldn't deny that it was a strange question because it was coming from a person, who let out a strange aura of puzzles and cryptic, under the veil of the cheery smile.

"A name tells me a lot of things. You could tell me the story of your whole life but I would know more with just your name." To Tsuna, he could see those sienna eyes burning with truthfulness and unconsciously let his cautiousness waver.

"He's just bluffing, don't listen to him." Gokudera remarked purposely in a loud voice, so the worker wouldn't miss a word. Dino pretended not hear what Gokudera said and went off to the other side of the shop. He again, pulled out a hidden yukata and took out an obi and pair of geta from the glass display.

"Here we are, a light orange yukata with white swallows on the front and back, and a dark green obi with gold embroidered maples, and to finish it off a pair of polished wooden geta." Tsuna totally let his cautiousness levels drop below zero and enthusiastically went with Dino to the change rooms. When he came out, the wide grin on Gokudera obviously showed that it greatly suited him.

"Wow, the yukata is stunning," The student commented from the bottom of his heart, with a beaming smile. For a moment, he thought he felt one of the swallows tickle his back.

"No, your stunning Tsuna-kun," Dino grinned. "No matter how ornate and beautiful a yukata may be, if the right person doesn't wear it, it just doesn't work." Tsuna couldn't help but blush a little in embarrassment, since he wasn't used to people calling the 'no-good-Tsuna' anything above satisfactory.

"Thank you, um Cavallone-san," Tsuna quickly flicked his eyes to the name tag.

"Just call me Dino," the worker said to Tsuna ruffling his hair, so it stuck up at all angles possible.

After a bit of rustling in the change rooms, the two gathered at the counter. Everything was neatly wrapped in white tissue paper and popped into a bag with the shop's name and logo of a dragon biting its own tail. Gokudera brought out his wallet studded with criss-crosses but Tsuna pushed his it away, shaking his head.

"A one day early birthday present Gokudera-kun," Tsuna flashed a smile.

"What! No, I couldn't! I'll-'

"Gokudera-kun please let me buy it. I really wanted to get you something nice for your 15th," Tsuna had no intention of backing down for once against the usually scary-scary-Gokudera and pleaded.

"But, it costs so much together with all the obi and pairs of geta!" He wouldn't back down easily either. After all they were just high school students and money didn't pour down as rain (as much as wished for it to happen sometimes.)

"Excuse me there, can I say something?" Dino asked. The two of them realised they had forgotten about the worker's existence. "Since it's your birthday tomorrow Gokudera-kun, you can take a whole set of a yukata home for absolutely...**nil**."

"Really!? " Tsuna couldn't believe that the word 'nil' had really come out of Dino's mouth. "You would actually do that for us Dino-san!?"

"Of course I would! I really want you young'ns to go to the festival anyway, especially you Gokudera-kun," Dino pointed at the frowning student with a knowing expression. Like a cold piece of glass, Gokudera felt something slip into him and though he didn't feel sick or anything, he could tell that it was a foreboding sign.

He really didn't like this guy full stop. Not just because of his annoying nature but because this guy seemed to be controlling the two like marionettes confined onto strings.

"Well then I'll pay for Gokudera-kun's yukata set," Tsuna stated with absolute resolution but Gokudera remained silent; there was something not right. It felt like when do up your buttons and realise that they are all out of place.

The paying was done smoothly and Dino farewelled them at the entrance of the shop, at the same time attracting whole swarms of high school girls. "I'll see you there at the festival tomorrow! If you have trouble with your yukatas come a little earlier and I'll help you!"

"Thank you Dino-san!" Tsuna waved at him. Gokudera and the worker met eyes for a split second before looking away.

Dino watched the figures become smaller and smiled, a different smile. "You need to go to the festival to meet _him_, Gokudera _Hayato_."

* * *

**Notes:**

_*Koto: _written as 「琴」or 「箏」and is a traditional Japanese stringed instrument

_*Suzu written as_「鈴」and is a bell

_* UVERworld - GO-ON _: a great song^^

*_Ohayo _: written as 「おはよ」meaning 'Good morning'

*_PASMO_ : a smart card used in Japan which is contactless and rechargeable

*_Wa no Muso_ : written as「和の夢想」(Original)

*_Kimono_ : written as 「着物」and is a traditional Japanese garment worn by men, women and children

*_Yukata _: written as 「浴衣」and is a Japanese casual summer kimono

*_Obi _: written as 「帯」and is a sash which is worn with the kimono or yukata

*_Geta_ : written as 「下駄」and are traditional Japanese footwear that resemble both flip-flops and clogs

*_Tomoshi-zakura Hanami Festival_ : written as「灯桜花見祭り」(Original)

_*Hanao_ : written as 「鼻緒」and is cloth thong that passes between the big toe and second toe

*_Kabuki _: written as 「歌舞伎」and is classical Japanese dance-drama

*_shotakon : _written as 「ショタコン」and is an attraction to young boys

[Info from Wiki]


	3. A Human Joke

_**Chapter 2**_

_-A Human Joke-_

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_Soft watercolours of blue painted the canvas above, as streaks of white stretched their vein-like branches across its surface. An ancient sugi* reached up with its strong yet aged arms in the hope of ever touching the sky, though it knew that such a dream was unattainable. As if to make that clear, a sparrow stood at the top of the tree and then soared down, weaving in through the spider-leg like fingers till it came to the last branch, where a youth was singing to the accompaniment of a koto._

"_Why do you always play that song?" The Tengu* turned to his right and looked at the sparrow, then burst out laughing._

"_Sorry, I don't mean to do this to you every time we meet," he chuckled, wiping tears out of his eyes, " but I'm just never gonna get used to hearing your voice come out of a sparrow."_

_The sparrow fluttered its wings annoyed and as it did, it changed into the figure of an adolescent who had dissimilar coloured eyes. His medium length hair was put up at the back, so the hair stuck up and moved to and fro like the fronds of a palm tree. The wind played at his black yukata, creasing the embroidery of the soaring sparrow on his back, but he didn't seem to notice._

_"So why do you play that song?" He asked again with patience. _

_The Tengu scratched his head and thought about it for a moment before replying. _

"_I actually don't know. It was...in my memory before I became a Tengu." His brow furrowed, realising the fact. The other teenager looked at the sky; it had darkened a shade. _

"_Could it be the memory of your past life?" The words carefully rolled off his tongue._

_He shook his head. "That's impossible. Kami-sama* has to erase the memories of our past life before we're transferred to a Yōkai* soul. It's the rules of the Afterlife." Even as he said this, the Tengu could feel himself doubting his own words. Lately, he'd been experiencing strange visions. Sometimes he would see himself running to a white plate-like object on the ground, other times he saw a person smoking. The person reoccurred a lot in his visions; frowning and being angry most of the time but sometimes smiling like an idiot. The Tengu didn't know who this person was, but he knew that whenever the person came up in his visions, he was always smiling. _

"_Maybe Kami doesn't have the power to fully erase particularly strong memories." The Yosuzume's* voice interrupted his thoughts. _

"_Mukuro, if Hibari had heard that; he would have bitten you to death," he stated, trying to ignore the fact that his mouth had twitched when he said 'strong memories.' "And don't call Kami-sama just Kami."_

_A quiet laugh escaped the Yosuzume's mouth and he looked at the youth beside him, whom gazed into the distance with a longing expression. Mukuro leaned closer to the Tengu and finally whispered those dangerous words._

"_But don't you find it curious about what our past life was like?" _

_The neutral expression turned to one of bewilderment as the Tengu looked at the sly smile on Mukuro's face. His crimson eye was unnaturally red, almost too tainted with yearning and he could almost feel himself being drawn to it. However, the intense eye contact was cut off as the sounds of what seemed like a stampede came nearer, together with a whole lot of exuberant shouting._

"_OH MY GO, OH MY GOD, THEY'RE SELLING ME!!!"_

_A whirlwind of dust left the feet of a teen with curly permed hair, whom waved at the two sitting on the branch, not looking surprised at all in fact._

"_I'm like printed on a mask and postcard and fan and omamori!!!"* He turned around and pointed at the stitching of a large red cow on his back. "Just like this one!"_

_Mukuro seemed to have no ability in reading the atmosphere and bluntly asked a tabooed question._

"_Who would buy something that has a red cow on it?"_

_The Tengu had a "what the hell are you doing asking him that!" expression on his face but the words had already sunk into the teen's mind. He fell to his knees with a rather loud thud and turned into stone._

"_Oh, those words are a taboo, I forgot."Mukuro remarked in an airy-fairy tone, knowing from the start that it was a taboo but just saying it for the fun of bullying the cow. The Tengu figured that it was just Mukuro being an S and decided that he'd get Hibari to 'discipline' Mukuro later._

"_I would buy something that had you on it," the youth whispered into stone cow's ear. Immediately the old jolly face returned and he hugged the Tengu, who awkwardly pat his back. "I knew you would Tengu!" The teen then stood up on the branch and while pointing to something in the heavens, made an (embarrassing) statement._

_"Nobody can walk away from the GREAT LAMBO AKABEKO,* the red cow of the Aizu* region who will dominate the world!!!" _

"_I think Mukuro is doing that right now," the Tengu pointed at Mukuro who clearly had no interest and was subtly escaping, not wanting to get involved in Lambo's embarrassing declarations. But the adolescent stopped all of a sudden in his tracks and closed his eyes, listening to the messages carried by the wind._

"_It sounds like they're starting the preparations for the festival."_

_Lambo stopped his pronouncement and the two listened in._

_Just as Mukuro had said there were voices; some ordering people, others questioning people and a few annoying their parents, most likely children. A few trucks beeped here and there but it seemed like they were just starting the basis of the preparation. _

"_We have to be careful tomorrow." The Tengu knew that something would be different. The festival had been held 9 times in the past and it would be the 10th tomorrow, but the 9th of September this year was a day that he felt was not a good day for humans._

_It was the day when the white moon of the Humans and black moon of the Yōkai would merge and create a gateway between the two worlds, letting the inhabitants of both worlds to cross into the realms of each others. _

_But I guess I'm a yōkai, not a human, so I shouldn't be worrying about such a thing. _

_Anyway, I'll be meeting my old friends again so I have that to look forward to!_

"_There's usually one or two who can see us," Mukuro looked at the Tengu deviously, "so we should be careful." The youth ignored the Yosuzume's gaze and started a 'NG checklist.' _

"_So no checking out the girls," the Tengu eyed the adolescent with suspicion._

"_No girls," Mukuro confirmed with a sad smile._

"_No stealing food," he changed his gaze to Lambo._

"_No food," Lambo for once unprotestingly agreed._

"_And no stealing candy," he continued to look at the Akabeko, whom turned his eyes away from the Tengu, and said nothing. The youth sighed wearily. _

"_LA-M-BO!"_

"…_no…st-stealing…ca…n…dy…" Lambo closed his eyes, whispering 'tolerate!' "..and NO STEALING CANDY!"He finally shouted, almost making the other two yōkai jump out of their skin. Suddenly, the Yosuzume twittered under its breath._

"…_and absolutely no contact with humans," a stern voice stated._

_From the flaring maple woods, Hibari came walking towards them, his black wolf ears up in the air, twitching every so often to the voices of the humans. He was releasing a 'don't fucking come near me or I'll fucking bite you to death' aura but the only person who seemed to be aware of it was the Tengu. The other two were either blind or extremely dense to the bone._

"_Hibari! Weren't you off stalking someone?" Lambo asked childishly, unaware of the rapidly swishing tail._

"_I was NOT stalking, I was just following them," he replied, quietly growling in an annoyed manner._

_"He should be the Stalker-inu instead of the Okuri-inu*" Mukuro said with a smirk._

_The Tengu was frantically sending them the NG signals but with not much success. "What brings you here then?" He quickly asked, before Hibari went on a killing spree._

_Hibari breathed out, letting out some of the steam of anger that had been building up and replied unperturbedly. "I was just checking to see that you yōkai hadn't got caught by some mad scientists wanting to do experiments on you."_

_The Yosuzume however didn't seemed to be satisfied that Hibari hadn't vented his anger and continued pressing on his nerves._

"_Why thankyou Kyouya, but I'm not that pathetic enough to be caught by some mad humans."_

_For once, a smile was carved upon Hibari's face. "Oh really? The last time I saw you, you fell out of a tree just because a human's small metal box made a noise and on top of that, you nearly got found by the human."_

_Mukuro clucked his tongue disapprovingly. The damn dog. Always had eyes everywhere._

_Victory was sweet as fresh meat to the Okuri-inu and now that he was satisfied, Hibari took his leave._

"_Where're you going Hibari?" The Tengu asked, finding it easier to breathe now that Hibari was in a good mood._

"_Kami-sama told me to check out a dispute in the City."His eyes sparkled with excitement and the youth felt the uneasiness grow again in his stomach. Kami-sama always trusted Hibari with any quarrel, because he knew that the Okuri-inu could talk things through calmly and with composure, but if it were to become heated and result in a brawl, Hibari was especially specialised in that area called a 'fight.'_

"_Ok, good luck with that," the youth grinned, knowing Hibari was the man, well yōkai who would always come back succeeding his tasks._

"_Arrivederci Hibari!" Lambo waved, completely oblivious._

"_What does that mean?" The Okuri-inu asked. The aura was beginning to build up again. This time it was edged with a near killing intent._

_Everybody knew that Lambo was minced meat, but the yōkai himself didn't seem to notice. "It apparently means goodbye in Italian," the Akabeko stated cheerfully._

_Hibari revealed a hidden tonfa from the front part of his yukata and asked with slitted eyes. "…and where did you learn that?"_

_Now the slow and dense Lambo realised his situation and was shaking with terror, looking up at the dark figure of Hibari. "Ummm…we-well…ma-maybe… in the li-li-library?"_

_The tonfa was in the air the split second after the Akabeko answered and it came slamming down on his face and threw him to the other sugi tree, meters away. Lambo held his swelling cheek with his hand and shouted disbelievingly. "Kami-sama would never let you use weapons!"_

_The Okuri-inu produced another tonfa and held it with the other hand. "But Kami-sama would if they were disciplinary tools to discipline the undisciplined."His eyes glinted maliciously."Like you."_

_Without a moment to lose, the Akabeko ran to the Tengu. "Tenguuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!" Lambo cried, hiding behind the youths large white wings. The Tengu pat the trembling body, again sighing wearily. "Come on Hibari, he was just curious, right?"_

_Hibari lowered his tonfa, slightly disappointed that the fight hadn't got anywhere to a climax. "As long as you don't repeat the action ever again, I'll overlook you this time." _

_The Okuri-inu was about to go but turned back to them a second time._

"_You yōkai better not smell like humans when I get back," he told them, baring his canines before running off to the destination of the dispute. For a second, the group all felt their necks being pierced by those long, slender teeth but they shook the thought away, wishing that the feeling wouldn't become a reality._

_Lambo then told the two that he'd be near the fields and walked off in an awkward manner still traumatised by Hibari's tonfa attacks and slitted eye glares._

"_We should really get Kyouya a muzzle for his birthday" Mukuro remarked, still annoyed by what Hibari had said._

"_Mukuro, remember we don't age," the Tengu chuckled._

"_Just a human joke," the Yosuzume said before spreading his navy tipped wings and disappearing off to the forest._

_The Tengu sat in silence for a while, finally in peace and then murmured to himself._

"_A human joke eh?"_

* * *

**Note from Yuhazaki:**

Lambo is rather OOC==" Sorry if it displeases anyone

* * *

**Notes:**

*_Sugi_ : written as 「杉」and is a large evergreen tree. It is often called the 'Japanese Cedar' in English (thought it is not related to cedars)

*_Tengu : _written as「天狗」and is a class of supernatural creatures found in Japanese folklore, art, theatre and literature. They were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey, and are traditionally depicted with both human and avian characteristics

_*Kami-sama : _written as「神様」or just 'kami' 「神」meaning God. The word 'sama'「様」 is put at the end of a noun to show that you respect that person/creature.

*_Yōkai _: written as 「妖怪」and are a class of preternatural creatures in Japanese folklore. Some possess part animal and part human features and they generally have spiritual or supernatural powers　

*_Yosuzume : _written as「夜雀」and is a mysterious bird that sings at night, sometimes indicating that the _Okuri-inu _is near

_*Omamori : _written as 「お守り」and are Japanese amulets dedicated to particular Shinto deities as well as Buddhist figures. The word 'omamori' means honourable protector

_*Akabeko _: written as 「赤べこ」and is a traditional toy from the Aizu region of Japan. Aizu legend claims that the toys are based on a real cow that lived in the 9th century and showed its devotions to Buddha by willing its soul away or by refusing to leave the site of a temple it helped to construct. (In this story the Akabeko is a supernatural creature and turns to stone if it hears something shocking [Original] )

*_Aizu : _written as「会津」and is an area comprising the westernmost third of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan

*_Okuri-inu : _written as 「送り犬」and is a dog or wolf ( a wolf in this story) who follows travellers mainly at night (but for this story, all day round.)「犬」means 'dog.'

**These creatures lived in different regions of Japan, but I have totally ignored that fact=="**

[Info from Wiki]


	4. The Rage and The Shout

_**Chapter 3**_

_-The Rage and The Shout-_

* * *

_Soundless steps of those coal-black paws...the low growl hinting its presence...ever-watching eyes of profound topaz...the unfathomable aura it produced..._

Ever since they had crossed those zebra lines on the road, a black dog had been following them.

Gokudera didn't give it much care at first, however as they passed shop after shop, he glanced at the reflection of the window and saw those paws trotting forward, right at their tails.

He didn't know whether he should tell his friend or not, but it seemed that Tsuna was oblivious to the dog's existence and decided not to. Knowing him, he would probably scream at the top of his lungs, start shaking at the legs, and become victim to the dog's canines.

"Gokudera-kun look! They're starting the preparations!" The student pointed excitedly towards the Namimori Gardens where there were several trucks being unloaded in the parking lot, and near the central part of the Gardens they could just see the outlines of the stalls. Near the mid area of the stalls, Gokudera caught a glimpse of a rather heavily built man, whom had partial green hair on the right side of his head and appeared to be checking something on his papers. He shifted his red rimmed shades up, and Gokudera turned his head away swiftly when the man looked up, not wanting to associate in any way with such a person.

"Let's go!" Tsuna now motivated to the extreme started sprinting off to the stalls, as his silver-haired friend ran after him. Gokudera then carefully glanced behind him, to find that the dog had vanished.

_Weird. That dog didn't leave a trace. I felt nothing._

They arrived at the entrance where a scarlet-red torii* stood astride, acting as though it was the guardian of the passageway to the shrine. The two passed through the gates, awed by its grand presence and continued towards the stone stairs, which appeared as if it had been washed and cleaned of recently.

On either side of them, the sugi trees warmly greeted the students by bowing their branches in respect and in turn, the two instinctively let their heads sink. After climbing the many steps, they came across the view of people bustling about around the stalls, still in its first preparations. The stalls had been set up on the sando* so the people who came to the festival could enjoy the delights of the stalls, before visiting the shrine to ring the bell or throw in a coin to pray or make a wish for oneself.

Gokudera noticed the tōrō* lined up neatly beside the paved path and thought he saw something standing beside one of the stone lanterns, however he didn't have time to confirm his sighting as Tsuna went ahead into the storm of bustling people. The two ambled along the carpet of rose pink speckled earth, weaving in through the people and trying to find the general manager.

At the end of the sando, Gokudera could make out the shrine dedicated to the 'Tengu.' Outside the inner area of the shrine, there was a thick, long rope twisted together and knotted at the end. The top of the rope was also knotted so that it could be hit onto a dish-shaped bell, to inform the Tengu that a person wanted their prayer to be heard.

From where he was standing, Gokudera could just see the inside of the temple, and there appeared to be an enormous statue of a red face of a man with an unusually long and large nose, whom also had white hair, a beard and eyebrows. All of a sudden he was staring straight into the eyes of the Tengu face and found that he couldn't look away. Luckily a petal blocked his view and he snapped out of the staring competition.

"I think that's the manager." He looked to the direction where Tsuna's gaze was, and saw the same (gay-looking) guy he had been peering at weirdly a moment ago.

"Ah, I really don't think so; I mean he looks straight from a hippy club or something." Gokudera was edging away, eager to make the dash but Tsuna, even being quite small for his age, succeeded in dragging his friend to the man.

"Hello," the student flashed a smile, "we are here as volunteers to help set up the festival, and we were wondering if it was possible that you could tell us where the manager is?" Tsuna was definitely the one pro at talking politely unlike his friend beside him, who would have totally got the man by the shirt and threatened (asked) him. However to Gokudera, this man was an exception.

The 'hippy' looked at Tsuna up and down in a neutral expression and then burst out with a flowery grin. "My my! You're such a small, cuuuute boy! You would be absolutely perfect to calm that rage of his!"

Tsuna had a confused expression on his face.

Crouching behind the student, Gokudera again exploded with those insane yet possibly true thoughts.

_T-this guy too!? First it's the yukata-guy and now it's this hippy? Is the world full of shotakons or something!?_

"Um, are you the manager?" The brown head asked trying to stay composed, again unlike his friend.

The man nodded, still a little lost in his own world. "Ah, yes yes I am! My name is Lissuria and this is the first time I've been a manager for this festival. Pleased to meet you dear boy." Lissuria shook the student's hand with his own gloved one, and Tsuna once again seemed to completely trust this person whom he had met 10 seconds ago.

"My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. This is my friend Gokudera Hayato, who would also like to help."

Gokudera immediately had the expression of "whaaaat!? Why did you introduce me!? Shit, now he's looking at me!" Nevertheless it was all too late. Lissuria had already locked on onto Gokudera's figure and this time was swooning over the student.

"OH MY MY MY MY MY!!!! ANOTHER ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS BOY!! I WOULDN'T MIND JUST TAKING YOU HOME RIGHT NOW!!!" Lissuria had heart marks appearing beside him at an abnormal pace, and Gokudera felt goose-bumps race across his skin, as well as the feeling of wanting to chuck.

_This. Can't. Be. Happening._

He was definitely going to make the run now, nobody would stop him, not even

"Lissuria-san. We would be really happy if we could start helping _now._" Tsuna was starting to lose his cool for once, and the manager sensing the sudden change to the atmosphere, finally planted his feet firmly back to reality.

"Ah, don't make such a dark face Tsu-chan! Let me see who you could help," the manager flicked through some pages in his folder while the two students stood there, quite traumatised about the 'chan.'

"Tsu-chan can work with the person I referred to earlier, the big man with the temper! His name is Xanxus and his stall is the shooting gallery which is near the mid section on the left," Lissuria pointed down the pathway to the left, where there was a figure holding a rifle and strangely there appeared to be not a person around him.

"Good luck controlling his rage!" He gave a thumbs up to Tsuna, who looked as if a rain cloud was pouring over his head.

_Why do you have to always mention about his rage..._

Tsuna started making his way towards Xanxus (his death), and took small steps in the hope of prolonging his life a little longer.

The scarred student was now by himself with the 'dangerous' hippy and he was really not looking forward to helping at all. But Lissuria seemed to already have someone in plan.

"Now Ha-chan, I'll get you to help Sharkualo because he's another aggressive one and I'm sure you'll be able to tame him, somehow."

_Somehow!? And what! Ha-chan!?_

"He runs a goldfish-scooping stall just down there," the manager waved around the area where there was a man with long silver hair shouting at something on the ground. "All good? Now off you go!" Lissuria gave the student a little push towards the still shouting man and waved a rather lovey-dovey goodbye, which Gokudera killed with his glare.

He hurried off to the designated stall, still feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rise up, and as he came nearer to the stall, he thought his eardrums were literally going to burst.

"VOOOOOII!!! EAT ALREADY GODAMNIT!! WHY WON'T YOU FUCKING FISH EAT!? I'M NOT GIVING YOU SHIT FOR FUCKS SAKE!!" 'Sharkualo' was dumping food into the fish tank by the handful, but none of the little creatures dared to swim up to the floating food. They were all grouped together at the corner of the tank, trying to be as far away as they could from the fuming figure.

_Seriously, are you for real?_

* * *

Sweat was starting to build up on Tsuna's palms, and even though he had wiped them a million times on his parker the moisture wouldn't disappear. He could feel the people around him start to disperse and this just made his apprehension worse.

One more step and he would be in the domain of that person. One more step...

"What're you doing here kid?" Xanxus glared at the student, cracking his neck from side to side. He had short black hair with a large racoon tail trailing from the right side, and several red pheasant feathers streaming down on both sides of his shoulders. The scars on his face made Tsuna wonder why such a yakuza*-looking man was setting up a stall in a festival concerning cherry-blossom viewing.

To Tsuna, the rifle in the man's hands looked as if it were going to gun the student down any moment.

"I-I-I am a v-volunteer to h-help prepare the f-festival and L-Lissuria-san t-told me to come help y-you," he stuttered, unable to control his tongue.

Tsuna glanced up at the tall man with almost watery eyes. He was scared stiff to the bone.

"That fucking green piece of trash," the man uttered under his breath, "giving me this kid on purpose." Xanxus sighed, as he signalled Tsuna to get round to the back of the stall. The student ran to where he was told and to his horror, 12 (toy) rifles were lined up neatly in a cardboard box, along with a smaller box of a number of bullet shaped corks. Tsuna jumped when the man opened the flap leading to the back, and Xanxus smirked amusingly.

He was actually having fun terrifying this student.

"Your first job kid is to help me clean the insides of these rifles, like this," he held a long, thin brush that had bristles on three-fourths of the brush, and plunged it down the muzzle of the rifle. He pushed it in and out a few times until he was satisfied that the grime and dust had all been taken off by the brush. The man then washed the dirty brush in a small bucket of water, and then gave Tsuna the brush.

"Get cracking before I load a real bullet in one of these and shoot your head off," Xanxus threatened, though deep inside he was really cracking up. He knew that the rifles were just mere **toys **and there was no way a real bullet could be shot from one of them. But of course, Tsuna didn't know that and was **really **scared of this man.

"Y-Y-Yes sir!" The student accepted the brush, collected one of the rifles cautiously and started cleaning the inside of the rifle, the way Xanxus had shown him.

A deathly silent 3 minutes went past and the man looked up to check on Tsuna, and to his surprise all the rifles were in the new box which read 'CLEANED.'

H_ow the hell did he clean all those rifles so fast? I've only just started cleaning my second rifle..._

"U-um Xanxus-san, I've c-cleaned all the r-rifles as you t-told me," Tsuna was still stuttering but inside he felt slightly relieved, as he had been able to clean them quickly and endure through the heavy atmosphere.

"Hmph, not bad for a brat," Xanxus grinned with an evil smile. "I've got another job for you. Come here." The man opened the flap to enter the stall and as Tsuna was about to follow him, it slapped the student in the face. Tsuna cried out, surprised by the sudden attack however he sensed Xanxus' angry aura grow and quickly went into the stall.

"Took you long enough," the man remarked.

"I-I'm sorry." Tsuna could already feel the rage growing, like magma in a volcano slowly rising up to burst out.

"Is your face alright brat?" The student's image of Xanxus evaporated hearing the man's words. The volcano had all of a sudden decided not to explode.

"Ah yes, I'm fine thank you," he replied for the first time without stuttering in front of him. Tsuna's petrified self started dissolving into nothing, as he viewed the man differently.

_Maybe this person isn't who he seems to be..._

"-ist of prizes and make sure everything's here. Got that?"

Tsuna had a blank expression written on his face, and this just made Xanxus' volcano become heated up again.

"You-," Xanxus stopped himself from saying something and continued after exhaling out some steam, "-brat, listen to me when I say something! I said to check the list of prizes and make sure everything's here." He handed Tsuna the typed out checklist and a ball-point pen to tick or cross the box, then without another word Xanxus disappeared behind the stall.

To the right side of Tsuna, there were 3 medium sized boxes and the student peered into its contents, spotting billions of small soft toy key-chains, all of them being a different yōkai and other small packages with pictures of necklaces, earrings and rings bearing characters such as 'hope' 'luck' and 'happiness' on the front. There were also figurines of characters whom were in a famous yōkai related anime and sometimes the odd notebook or stationary featuring the shrine emblem of the Tengu.

He felt a bubble of enthusiasm in him, as he started looking through the boxes like a child finding and looking through a treasure box. Tsuna took out a keychain in a plastic packet from a particular box and looked at it curiously. It had a red cow with white stripes to either side of its cheeks and also three lines on the back, as well as two white bordered black spots on either side of its body.

"How cute." The student smiled at the little red cow.

"Do you want it?"

Tsuna jumped and fell onto his back at the sound of Xanxus' voice.

"U-u-um, sorry?" He had to really stop doing that. It would probably one day make him break a bone somewhere.

"I said, do you want it?" Xanxus repeated himself, finally getting used to the Tsuna's way of making a conversation.

_I talk, the kid jumps and doesn't hear a word, I repeat myself, the kid understands._

Tsuna glanced at the red cow, but then shook his head with a sad smile. "It says here that there are meant to be 50 yōkai key chains and if I take one, there would be only 49."

Suddenly Xanxus took the list and pen from the student and crossed out something, then wrote in graffiti like numbers '49' under the 'quantity' section of the yōkai key chains.

"There's only 49 now kid, what'd you gonna do about it?" He put the things down on the table, and then ruffled Tsuna's hair. "A thanks for helping," he quickly said before running away to the back of the stall again.

Tsuna grinned.

_He was blushing._

* * *

"Um excuse me Shar-"

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO FUCKING TELL YOU DUMB FISH!? JUST EAT THE DAMN FOOD OR I'LL MAKE YOU INTO SASHIMI!!!*" The long-haired man produced a katana from his jacket and was enduring the temptation to slide it out of its scabbard. He had that dangerous silver glint in his eyes and it just made the fish crowd into a tighter circle.

_I really don't want to do this..._

Gokudera waited for the split second when the man's shouting ended and yelled at the crazy fish-guy.

"Excuse me, I'm a volunteer for this festival and the manager asked me to help you!!!"

There was silence for a moment as 'Sharkualo' finally became aware of Gokudera's presence and stood up, hiding away his katana into some secret place in his black jacket.

"Can you not shout so fucking loudly?" He told the student, rubbing his ears.

Gokudera's eyebrow twitched. _Your the one shouting so fucking loudly!_

He breathed out, clenching his fists but remaining composed.

_Ok, calm down, fucking calm down Gokudera Hayato!_

"So what, that Lissuria sent you to help me?" He squatted down to the fish tank, glaring at the small creatures again.

"Yes he did...Sharkualo-san," Gokudera attempted to talk as polite as possible, but knowing himself, he would probably snap sooner or later.

'Sharkualo' slammed his fists onto the table, making even the water in the tank move violently from side to side. He glowered at Gokudera, who automatically answered to the glare and the man grabbed the collar of his shirt, almost pulling him up an inch off the ground. "DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE CALL ME THAT!!!"

Gokudera's expression changed to one of confusion. "What? Isn't that your name?"

The man let go of Gokudera's collar and started sliding his katana in and out of its scabbard. "THAT FUCKING LEAFY BASTARD!!!" His violent voice echoed throughout the Namimori Gardens yet again, with people instantly protecting their ears, as did Gokudera.

(At that moment, Lissuria had gone off to pick up a box accidently left behind in the sales factory and was not present to hear Squalo's shout of rage.)

He looked at the student with an exasperated expression.

_I guess all that shouting does wear him out._

"Get this straight. My name is Superbi Squalo. Not sharky, not sharkualo, and definitely fucking not Sephiroth!!!*" Squalo then plonked his head onto the table, huffing as if he had run a full marathon a thousand times.

The student waited patiently for him to get up, and tell him his duties for the preparation.

Gokudera waited.

He waited.

Yes, and waited.

Now people were staring at him oddly, and the student decided to take a peek at Squalo's face.

SQUALO WAS FUCKING ASLEEP. As if he had been beat down with a cold, hard bottle of wine.

The student breathed in and out, but it was no use. He had snapped.

"FUCKING WAKE UP SQUALO OR SHARKUALO OR WATEVA!!"

Instantly there was that rough grip on his collar again and Squalo was wide awake, his eyes boring holes into Gokudera's face. "I TOLD YOU TO NOT FUCKING CALL ME THAT, YOU OCTOPUS-HEAD!!!"

"WHAT'DYA SAY, YOU FUCKING SEPHIROTH!"

Squalo snapped to the extreme this time, and his sword was halfway drawn, when a black gloved hand stopped him. It was of course, Lissuria.

"Oh you little feral boys, stop making so much trouble!" The manager while laughing in a flowery manner gave them a 'weak' punch to their faces. Both of them were sent flying two stalls ahead and Lissuria came walking to them, cracking his knuckles.

"Ah, I haven't given someone a light whack for a long time. My hands have become all stiff!" He bent down to the sprawled Gokudera, who held his cheek in pain. "I guess Ha-chan wasn't compatible with Shakualo here. Let's find you another person," Lissuria grinned and started dragging the student away by the back of his collar.

Squalo looked up at the manager, who blew him a goodbye kiss.

_LISSURIA, YOU FUCKING SADIST!!!_

* * *

**Notes from Yuhazaki:**

I can assume that everyone knows what '-_chan_' and _'katana'_ means, right?

Sorry everyone, this chapter is a little late! I was busy and had to also research for this chapter:P

Oh god, I've made all the Varia characters crazy and slightly OOC=="

* * *

**Notes:**

*_Torii: _written as 「鳥居」and is a traditional Japanese gate commonly found at the entry to a Shinto shrine

*_Sando: _written as 「参道」and is a pathway to a Shinto shrine or temple where one prays

*_Tōrō: _written as「灯篭」 and is a traditional lantern that differs in shapes and styles. Some hand from buildings, while others are placed on or just above the ground

_*Yakuza: _written as「やくざ」or「ヤクザ」and are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. Basically the Japanese version of a mafia.

_*Sashimi: _written as 「刺身」and is a Japanese delicacy primarily consisting of very fresh raw fish and seafood

_*Sephiroth: _written as 「セフィロス」and is a Final Fantasy VII character whom resembles Superbi Squalo, appearance (except for the fringe) and weapon-wise

[Info from Wiki]


	5. Tears of the Tengu

**_Chapter 4_**

_-Tears of the Tengu- _

* * *

_Faintly the two gold suzu on his bracelet quivered, as though they feared something. He put a hand over the accessory around his wrist, not wanting to be notified every time one of them came near. The Tengu sat still as the sound of footsteps passed behind his back. Only after being sure that they had gone, his hand slid off the bracelet and to his relief, the bells had settled down._

_Even though the Tengu knew that only a few of them could see the yōkai, he couldn't help but get nervous. _

_A small splash in the Amanoke River* caught his attention, and the youth quickly packed his koto into a varnished hard -case painted with the lyrics of the 'song' in gold luminous ink. He slung the thin yet sturdy strap over the upper area of his shoulder so the case could fit just between his wings._

_The splash sounded again, but this time it had a tone of urgency._

_He let the wind carry him to the bridge, only using his wings to steer himself and sat down on the ancient bridge, made by the embracing of a pair of sugi trees. He propped one foot onto the 'ledge' and the other dangled down, almost teasing the small creature mouthing bubbles to the surface of the shaded waters._

_"Can you come quicker after I give the call?" The white goldfish flapped its pectoral fins in an annoyed manner._

_"Sorry, I had to pack my koto away," the youth apologised, gesturing towards the case on his back._

_"You're excused then," the bubbles formed again from the goldfish's mouth, yet they turned into words after surfacing the water."Are your suzu ringing?"_

_"Not anymore," he replied confidently, showing the bracelet to the creature under the water._

_"Good," the voice remarked as the goldfish started letting its long flowing fins wrap itself, and in the blink of an eye, a girl with a black pony-tail in a pure white yukata appeared. The yukata had a coral-red obi tied in the style of a butterfly bow, and the gold-fish fin styled ends flew about freely as though the girl were swimming through the air._

_"Are you alright to be out of the water like this Uni?" The last thing the Tengu wanted was to get a lecture from Uni's grandmother, Luce who was the current Goddess of Rivers._

"_If you're worrying about grandmother, she's gone to see the pollution levels in the North so I think she won't be back by tomorrow afternoon," Uni stated, knowing that previously the Tengu had received a 15 hour lecture about the importance of not leaving her alone in the midst of a human's presence. The Haku-gingyo* loved her grandmother a lot, but sometimes she felt that Luce's actions were a little overboard, even if she was the only person left in line to become the next River Goddess._

_"You read my mind," the youth chuckled as Uni sat down on the banks of the river, keeping her feet in the cool water to try and extend her stay out of the water._

_She glanced at the Tengu's wings and then looked down onto the clear surface of the River with an almost sorrowful expression. "I wonder what it feels like to soar through the sky."_

_The Tengu knew that Uni didn't like how she was restricted to the water and that she couldn't even come out of the water for more than 5 minutes. She had yet to know about true freedom but that in time would come to her hands._

_"One day we'll soar through the sky together," he smiled, though knowing that it would be when the girl became the Goddess and at the same time when her beloved grandmother would have passed away._

_Uni flashed a cheery smile. She didn't want to put her friend in a difficult situation._

_"I really hope we will."_

_Her arm suddenly twitched and the Haku-gingyo felt needles of pain on her exposed skin, as if they were jabbing at her non-stop. The message was obvious: she couldn't stay out of the water any longer. _

_She gripped her arm, trying to ignore the violent jerks and increasing pain. Uni thought about the feeling of the wind playing with her hair and the smells of Nature around her, and most importantly about being able to see her friend clearly without the water distorting her sight. All these things she could only experience for a mere 5 minutes. After the time limit was up, she had no choice but to return below the river's surface._

_The Haku-gingyo slowly walked into the water as her obi flowed out across the water like a flower blooming in Spring, and the girl closed her azure eyes, feeling her body plunge into the cool liquid._

_"That was 5 minutes already?" The youth asked with a surprised expression. He always felt that time moved faster when Uni was out of the water._

_"My skin started stinging so I think it was," Uni assumed, trying to hide her disappointment and changed the subject. "Is Lambo-nii* home?"_

_The Tengu remembered about what had happened to Lambo and laughed weakly to himself. "He went home a bit before so I think he's still there."_

_He's probably clutching his knees and rocking back and forth, whispering "Tolerate…tolerate…"_

_Uni didn't even have to guess what the Tengu was thinking because every time something happened concerning Lambo, it usually involved Hibari and his 'disciplining' which lead to the Akabeko sulking at home. "Ok thanks, I might go now for a quick visit."_

_"See you later Uni," the youth waved a goodbye._

_She looked up at the blurry and constantly moving image of the Tengu."Please don't stay here too long Ten-nii," she whispered, mouthing small bubbles._

_"Hm? Did you say something?" The Tengu asked, leaning towards the water._

_"Nothing, see you soon." The Haku-gingyo forced herself to swim away from the bridge, propelling her pectoral fins as if she was being tailed by a predator. Uni then stopped and looked back at the Tengu sitting in peace on the bridge._

_Ten-nii please hurray and fly away before __**he **__comes!_

* * *

Every so often the red cow head would bob up and down as if agreeing to Tsuna's words.

"I hope the other stall-holders are as nice as Xanxus-san," the student remarked, grinning at the little Akabeko hanging from his phone. He slipped it into his pocket as he approached the wandering manager who was pulling his gloves up, ready to knock anyone down.

"Lissuria-san, I finished helping at the shooting gallery," Tsuna informed the partial-green-head who stopped fixing his gloves and looked at him with utter shock. Lissuria grabbed the student's shoulders and started checking his body for something, even going as far as attempting to take off Tsuna's orange parker which the student strongly refused to do.

"You don't have any bullet holes Tsu-chan! Absolutely amazing!!" Lissuria cried, giving the student a hundred praising whacks to his back.

"B-bullet holes?" The brown-head felt his scaredy-cat self start creeping back. It was probably only a matter of time till he was back to the no-good-Tsuna.

"Oh didn't I tell you? Every volunteer who's helped him always comes back with a bullet or two in their stomach, so I was surprised that the same didn't happen to you," the manager told the now falling faint student. Tsuna was on the verge of being consumed by the dream world, and unfortunately Lissuria's words just made it worse.

"Well I guess he wouldn't shoot someone who was his type-" he started as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Lissuria glanced at the student and to his horror, found Tsuna's soul trying to escape from his mouth.

_He's a, he's a, he's a shotakon!!!_

"Now now Tsu-chan when I mean type, I mean someone er he doesn't mind to be around with, like someone he wants to be friends with!" Lissuria remarked frantically, trying to shove the soul back into the student's mouth but it seemed that Tsuna had come back from the edge of death.

"Friends? Ah I see! Lissuria-san you shouldn't say it as if he is a shotakon!" Tsuna laughed innocently, unaware that the manager was sweating slightly with a fake smile on his face. He put a hand on the small shoulder and gestured for Tsuna to follow him.

"You wouldn't mind helping out at my stall would you?" The manager asked, trying to forget about the 'little incident' that had happened a few seconds ago.

"Of course not Lissuria-san!" Even saying this, Tsuna was starting suspect what stall Lissuria owned. For all he knew, it could be a store devoted to okama* goods. He would definitely not want to sort out celebrity styled wigs of all colours, dresses made for the stature of a man and certainly **not** fake boobs. Just the thought of it made him shiver violently.

The student then realised that he was walking past the gold-fish scooping stall. He peered inside to find a long-haired man putting what looked like a chopping board on the ground next to a tank full of fish. He then picked up a goldfish with its tail, laying it onto the wood and...

Tsuna instantly looked away. As he walked on, he prayed that what he saw in the man's coat was 'not' a katana.

_Wait, Gokudera-kun wasn't at the goldfish-scooping stall..._

"Lissuria-san, wasn't Gokudera-kun helping out the goldfish scooping stall there?" He pointed at the stall but didn't look in the same direction, in case there were some 'graphic scenes.'

"Oh yes he was, but it seemed that Ha-chan and Sharkualo didn't quite mix together," Lissuria replied, waving his hands in an oh-so-dramatic way.

"Didn't quite mix…" Tsuna thought about how easily his friend could have snapped and resorted to violence. Sometimes the brown-head felt like the parent of a hot-headed delinquent, who would raise his fist by the slightest mockery.

"They were almost like oil and water," the manager stated as if he had just uttered a clever proverb, but Tsuna on the other hand, raised an eyebrow. In fact two eyebrows hearing Lissuria's words.

_Oil and water!? They didn't mix at all!_

Tsuna laughed weakly, not wanting to be rude. "I see…" Now he was starting to understand why Gokudera rejected him so harshly. It was just too impossible to keep up with the manager's pace. He would be talking to you normally one moment, but would suddenly throw out the flowers and dive into 'his world' the next moment.

"But now Ha-chan's working with someone else," he said to Tsuna, who suddenly felt a worry seed sprout inside of him. Tsuna had seen Gokudera encounter many people, but around 95% of them had either got onto his nerves or instantaneously beat to a pulp. Hopefully the person wasn't in the 95%.

Lissuria smiled in that mischievous manner. "I'm sure he'll work well with the _Prince_."

**Bullseye. **

_The Prince sounds like someone Gokudera-kun won't like...at all..._

"Here we are!" The manager cried abruptly, almost making Tsuna jump to the Moon. He could feel the bizarre aura of the stall tickle his skin, and with great courage took a fearful glance. The first thing that popped to his eyes was the sign.

It read: Lu-chan's LUV-LUV Paradise!!!

The sign was covered with glittering hearts and kiss marks that looked all too real, as if someone had put a load of red lipstick on and kissed the sign a million times. Tsuna instantly regretted ever agreeing to help the manager's stall, because he knew that his nightmare was just about to become a reality.

"Don't you just love the sign Tsu-chan!? I made it myself!" Lissuria was off again into his world, leaving the student to shake his head in despair.

_Okama goods...okama goods...okama goods..._

Lissuria's voice interrupted his distressed thoughts. "Could you sort these omamori and put them in here?" He opened his eyes and found a box placed in front of him. Tsuna's hands shook violently as he slowly opened it, imagining all those horrendous things that could be its contents. As the light was revealed to the inside of the box, to his relief Tsuna was greeted by a very familiar face.

"It's a strange lil' thing isn't it? It needs to be in more shape though, a little wide on the legs," the manager remarked, slapping his trained up legs. Tsuna chuckled, feeling all those troubled thoughts wash away and be replaced by enthusiasm. He shuffled through the box, somewhat forgetting the fact that he was meant to be sorting them out. His finger caught onto the string of an omamori, and Tsuna pulled it out of the colourful mountain. The main colour was of a dark amethyst and depicted a wolf surrounded by golden maple leaves, with the kanji 'Okuri-inu' written at the base.

All of a sudden, Tsuna felt everything stop. The talking, the wind, the breathing, even his own heart.

_...I can't remember...where are you...why do I see you...my memory...I'm here..._

The world started ticking again.

His eyes peered at the cerulean omamori in his palm. _Where did it...?_

"Ah the Tengu omamori! They symbolise guidance and are great for people who feel anxious about their life," the manager stated understandingly, as though he was one of those people.

Tsuna gripped the omamori tightly and whispered in a sorrowful voice.

"Maybe I should get this for Gokudera-kun..."

* * *

With a flick of his wrist, he turned all 16 sizzling takoyaki* with a thin knife-like skewer. He grinned widely with a peculiar 'Ushi-shi-shi-shi' snicker, as the youth adjusted his tiara-like crown on his head. "And that's how you cook some good takoyaki," he said, skewering the now ready to eat takoyaki and wolfing them down straight from the pan.

"I see...um Belphegor...san, don't you put anything on your takoyaki?" Gokudera asked, unable to imagine eating takoyaki by itself.

"Usually I do, but when you've been eating takoyaki for the whole day, your mouth gets a little too salty," Belphegor stuck his tongue out childishly and continued eating the plain takoyaki. From under his blond fringe, two playful eyes analysed Gokudera, possible calculating the ways to annoy him the most. He poked a takoyaki onto the end of the skewer, put some sauce, fish shavings and green laver, and approached the student with it, as if it were a weapon made for killing.

"Open your mouth Gokudeeera!" He exclaimed, grinning in that insane way as the youth drew the takoyaki near Gokudera's mouth.

_What! But didn't he just eat off that!? Wouldn't that be a...a...indirect kiss?_

"Um, no thankyou...like I had lunch earlier and yeah..." Gokudera wasn't going to let the 'Prince' as that hippy called him get his own way. _But to go against the Prince is like suicide Ha-chan!_ He heard the hippy's warning ricochet around his head, but forcibly pushed it to the back of his mind.

_As if I'm going to do what this guy tells me t-_

Swallow. _What the hell, why is my throat burning?_

"Ushi-shi," the Prince grinned in a satisfied manner. The feeling of making people suffer was just irresistible to him. In other words, Gokudera had unfortunately just met sadist number 2 and by the looks of him, it seemed Belphegor had already become attached to his new 'toy.'

"Why you fucking-" The silver-haired student raised his white-knuckled fist, about to give the Prince a hard blow to the face, but the youth simple ducked and moved to the side.

"Waaait, before you try to beat me up, how about you make some takoyaki for me?" Belphegor's sudden request instantly destroyed the hot atmosphere and the student stared at him blankly. The Prince's lips curved into a smile. _Bingo._

Gokudera's first instinct that moment was to run. There was no way in hell he was going to cook. Even now he couldn't cook a simple piece of toast. He remembered the time when he challenged himself to make breakfast and successfully burned down his house, save his family.

"Why the sudden pale look Gokudeeera?" The youth neared Gokudera's face, still with the same crazy expression. "Don't tell me your going to run like a coward, are you?" That was all Belphegor needed to say. Just that one word in that sentence set alight the flame of determination inside the student.

The student faced the takoyaki pan while rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt, and snatched the skewer off the Prince. He took the bottle of mixture in his other hand and started pouring the beige liquid into the spherical holes. Gokudera winced when the liquid overflowed in one of the holes, but for now he had cleared the stage of pouring the mixture in the holes. However the Prince knew that anybody without shaking hands could do the pouring, and that the next stage would be where Gokudera would 'fall.'

Bubbles formed upon the mixtures, a sign that they were ready to be flipped. Gokudera felt sweat build up on his forehead and slowly skewered the edge of the crackling takoyaki. He breathed out once, trying to stop himself from trembling and then flipped it. The Prince raised his eyebrows as he side stepped, barely missing the attack of a takoyaki missile. _Just as I thought...ushi-shi..._

Gokudera sighed in an exasperated manner knowing that this was probably according to the Prince's plan. He started jabbing at the other takoyaki desperately, even though they were all sent flying through the air. The student reached out for the last takoyaki, unaware that his shirt was being licked by the child-like flames under the pan.

As the final flying takoyaki danced through the air, show-casing its graceful pirouette, Gokudera looked down at his burning shirt. He started panicking as the flames continued to consume his shirt and flailed his arms around. "Stop Gokudera, your gonna burn yourself!" Belphegor shouted, noticing the student's hand dangerously near the scorching pan.

Too late.

Gokudera yelled as his skin came into contact with the pan. It burnt a clear arc on to his forearm and he held it agonizingly. The Prince rushed to his side, trying to act like a 'good person' though inside he couldn't help but laugh a little. He grabbed the student's arm, bringing it to the tap and turned it on.

The tap gurgled but nothing came out. "I thought they fixed it earlier in the morning..." Belphegor mumbled with an annoyed expression.

"Go down to the river and cool it there," the Prince instructed and the student nodded, as he started sprinting across the grass.

It took a good 5 minutes till he arrived at the river and Gokudera rushed to the clear water, unaware of the violent shrieks of the suzu. He felt the cool liquid soothe his burn and as the pain diminished, Gokudera unconsciously looked up at the bridge and felt like punching himself awake.

"Yamamoto..." His voice wavered, unable to accept what he was seeing.

The Tengu's lips twitched in response to Gokudera's words. _It's him...the guy in my visions... _Though thousands of questions bloomed inside his mind, 'Yamamoto' remained composed as if he had been merely hit by a petal.

"So you can see me..." Yamamoto gazed into the clover coloured eyes, trying to ignore the visions skimming past his eyes.

"Yamamoto...Yamamoto...you...why are yo-"

"Yamamoto? Who's that?" The Tengu interrupted in an unemotional tone.

Gokudera felt nothing come from Yamamoto's eyes.

No recognition. No memory. No warmth. _Nothing._

The student quickly looked down at the blurry ground. "Sorry, never-mind," he mumbled and then started walking, breaking into a sprint a moment later.

Instinctively the hand reached out and his lips formed a name which he stopped himself from shouting. The Tengu peered at his hand and curled it into a fist, closing his eyes as if wanting to forget everything that had just happened.

"Why did you lie to him?" A voice asked and the Tengu swiftly turned around to see the Okuri-inu with an impassive expression.

"Hibari! You were watching?" The Tengu asked, afraid that Hibari would beat the lights out of him, but the Okuri-inu ignored the question and repeated his own.

"_Why_ did you lie to him?"

He felt as though those topaz eyes were staring right through him, as if he was a statue made of glass, but the Tengu replied calmly. "You told me yourself that we're not allowed contact with humans."

"That's not what I asked," Hibari said in a low tone, edging further with the same expression.

"I...I don't know."

Hibari reached out towards the Tengu's face and instantly the youth closed his eyes, fearing of getting hit. However, he felt the Okuri-inu's fingers touch the corner of his eyes. Hibari looked at his finger. It was wet.

"Don't go near that human ever again," he growled dangerously. "I won't tell Kami-sama about this now but if you talk to that human again, I will." Without another word, Hibari turned into his wolf form and ran off to the woods where the maples shed their leaves.

The Tengu fell to his knees and leaned his head on the ledge of the bridge.

"Who are you to me, _Gokudera_?"

* * *

**Notes from Yuhazaki:**

I don't think the Tengu does symbolise guidance but possibly 'wings' do? (Possible inaccuracy)

I know Bel's favourite food is Sushi, but it just didn't fit into the 'Japanese festival'

I just realized that I hadn't written down the meanings to the 'koto' and 'suzu' in Chapter 1, sorry about that=="

Also I apologise that the yōkai couldn't make it last chapter:(

* * *

**Notes:**

*_Amanoke River: _written as「天ノ華川」(Original)

_*Haku-gingyo: w_ritten as「白金魚」(Original)

_*Nii: _written as「兄」and can said as the abbreviated version of 'Nii-san'「兄さん」which means 'elder brother.' It can be used to describe a blood-related sibling or used as a friendly way of addressing a young man.

_*Okama: _written as「お釜」or「おかま」and refers to a gay man, especially one who is viewed as effeminate or a drag queen.

_*Takoyaki: _written as「たこ焼き」and are popular Japanese dumplings made of batter, dice or whole baby octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger and green onion, topped with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, green laver and fish shavings.

[Info from Wiki]


	6. A Yōkai Truth

_**Chapter 5**_

_-A Yōkai Truth-_

* * *

_Why were you there Yamamoto? Why could I see you? Why did you forget about me?_

Those confused tears slid out of his eyes, each of them bearing a question but none to get an answer, as they fell off Gokudera's chin and died at his feet. He rubbed his eyes with the wet patch on his sleeve, unable to control the rain pouring down from his eyes. Gokudera banged the side of the truck with his fist, bowing his head low so anyone who accidently stumbled upon him wouldn't see his crying face.

_What? You can't remember the last time you cried? Well weren't you crying when I confessed to you?_

"That was because I was happy you idiot," he whispered, feeling his body slide to the ground. Gokudera looked to his side and to his horror; a young white bird lay motionless on the ground. Its pure white wing was neatly spread out across its small body and his mind instantly flashed to the winged Yamamoto.

"No…no…no, please don't…" He reached out with a trembling hand to the youngling, unaware that there was a figure behind him watching in silence. Gokudera's finger touched the tip of the wing and as it did, the youngling opened its two wide grey eyes and sat up in an awkward manner, cheeping at the student. There was relief written on Gokudera's face and he cupped his hands around the chick which snuggled in but slightly painfully, with one wing poking out at an odd angle.

"I'll fix you soon," the silver head told the youngling who cheeped in reply.

"Alright there Gokudeeera?"

Gokudera jumped at the sound of the voice and turned back to see the familiar grin.

"Uh yes, I'm sorry I'm late Belphegor…san. I found this injured chick…and…I thought…um…" His mind had completely shut down after the 'meeting' and it had chosen the 'greatest' of moments to restart.

"Its fine Gokudera, do we need to get a vet?" Belphegor asked, squatting down to take a closer look at the injured youngling.

The student shook his head. "I've had some experience in treating wounds like this. I think I can deal with it, but I need bandaging and some scissors. Could you please get them?" Gokudera felt that he was starting to get good at this 'polite talk' and smirked in a satisfied manner to himself in the inside.

Belphegor nodded with a wide grin and disappeared behind the corner of the vehicle, leaving the two together in each other's company. Carefully, the student smoothed the feathers on the youngling's neck and it cheeped in delight at the stroke. It nuzzled his fingers and gave them loving nibbles with its beak, even though the smile on Gokudera's face was starting to fade away.

"Have you ever been forgotten? It hurts so much when you know them, but they don't know you. It just hurts so much here," Gokudera put his hand where his heart was, scrunching up his shirt as if trying to squeeze all the pain out. He stopped immediately, hearing the rustle of grass as someone came nearer.

"I found the things you asked!" The blonde held out a roll of bandaging and Gokudera accepted it gratefully, along with a pair of scissors. He cut off a strip about 10 inches in length and then secured the broken wing against the small body. The student started wrapping the bandage on the outside of the broken wing and then around the body under the healthy wing. A thankful cheep from the youngling put the smile back on Gokudera's face and he stood up, taking the chick in one hand.

"I'll start working again Belphegor-san," Gokudera said to the Prince who flashed his row of white teeth and told the student to follow him back to the stall.

Tsuna and Gokudera worked until the evening when the sun was smiling across the horizon, and after they thanked and farewelled the manager and stallholders, the two started making their way back home.

"How was the guy with the temper?" Gokudera asked, quite curious as to why his friend didn't look like he had encountered Hell 444 times.

With his left hand, Tsuna played with the Akabeko key chain that he had received. "He was scary at first…but after working with him, I found that he was really nice," the student grinned at his surprised friend. "How about you Gokudera-kun?"

The silver head sighed, remembering the showdown that he had with the goldfish-abuser. "Well that Sharkualo or Squalo totally got on my nerves and we were basically about to rip each other apart. Then the manager arrived and dragged me to some person called the Prince."

Tsuna was about to reply, but realised that they had arrived at his house.

"Well I'll see you tomorrow at 5," he paused for a moment, "do you think we'll need any help with our yukatas?" The student could already see themselves turning up to the festival with their yukata and obi all over the place. It would be a total disaster and embarrassment.

"I think…we will," Gokudera replied hesitantly, really not wanting to see the shotakon again.

"Ok let's go at 4:30 then," the brown head remarked, opening the low gate in front of his house. He smiled and waved a goodbye to his friend. "Goodnight Gokudera-kun."

"Night," the student returned the wave and continued making his way back home.

The Sun had already left its afterglow and the first stars were being born across the sky, some hiding behind the darkening clouds, too shy to face the world just yet. There was a gentle current in the air, carrying with it a sweet fragrance that seemed to put all life into a deep slumber.

Or maybe not?

"What do you want? You were following me this afternoon too," Gokudera turned back to face the black dog, but found that its features had changed a little to resemble more of a wolf. He peered closer in a cautious manner, aware that he was on the border line of its space bubble. "You look a little different… more like a wolf." As he said this, it growled loudly taking a step towards the student, however after a piercing glare it ran into the shadows, leaving a slightly confused Gokudera.

He started walking again, though a little reluctant about turning his back on the shadows. All of a sudden, Gokudera clicked his tongue hearing his stomach rumble.

_Shit, I forgot to get an obento* from the convenience store!_

Gokudera was about to dash off to the nearest store, however a cold hand around his neck stopped him. The hand made him look towards the luminous Moon, and the student realised that there was a darker circle almost outlining it, like a shadow.

_Why did you choose that day?_ A husky voice whispered in his ear. Gokudera stopped breathing. He clutched his head, shaking it violently in the hope that those unwanted images wouldn't skim past his eyes.

_Why didn't you stay home? Why did you didn't you stop the rain? _Gokudera felt something strange inside him as those words entered him. His stomach seemed to have spun in a 360 degree manner and he coughed and spluttered, tempted to claw out his own throat. The blood in his veins felt like they were burning, as if lava were running through them, continuously circling around his system.

Sensing the disturbance, the wind leapt about from roof to roof in a frenzy causing the trees to shake their branches about frantically, dropping their youthful leaves in the process.

Gokudera couldn't see the lights ahead. He could only see the deformed images of **that **memory.

"You're starting to feel it aren't you?" There was the sound of the _clack-clack_ of geta and a figure appeared holding a chōchin* with the character 'yume'* written on its surface. The wick of the candle inside burned brighter and revealed the owner of the voice.

"What do you mean?" Even though the silver head didn't completely trust the yukata store owner, he had a feeling that the man knew something. Something which was important to him.

"If you want to know, follow me." The chōchin swayed from side to side as Dino wandered away from the student, entering into the domain of what looked like black mist. As the light became distant, Gokudera felt that dark presence behind his back and quickly ran to the blonde.

"Glad you came," the man remarked, slapping Gokudera's back as if he were a proud father. The irritated student tried to brush away the whacks but with no success, as Dino evaded the counter-attacks with a smirk. Gokudera quietly fumed as the two arrived at a large wooden gate with a tiled roof, mimicking the roof of the main house which rose well above the timber walls surrounding it.

_T-This looks exactly like a Yakuza's house...like the ones in dramas!_

Gokudera didn't even try to hide his shocked expression, because a memory flashed in his mind of when he first met Dino. He had been wearing a yukata, _( that's fine) and_ then he had stretched his arm out and...revealed the _(y-yakuza-looking)_ tattoo...

"Hey chill, I'm not a part of any yakuza family," Dino said for the 1000th time, not to Gokudera but to a person in general. Every time he brought curious people to his house, they all reacted the same way: jaw-dropping then eventually making the dash. Next day they would be all suddenly speaking politely and addressing him with 'sama' at the end of his name. Nobody wanted to get on bad terms with a 'yakuza.'

Dino pushed the gate lightly open with one hand and beckoned the student to come in. As Gokudera stepped into the front yard, the heavy emotions that had been dragging him down disappeared, as if they feared the purity the white pebbles on the ground were creating.

There was a small pathway made of different shaped pieces of concrete slabs leading towards the entrance and Gokudera started instinctively following it. In the middle of the front yard, there was an irregular square patch of auburn with a rock covered in harlequin green moss, and a single Japanese black pine shaped in a bonsai* slant style. The silver head noticed that there were several small boulders in the garden, each of them having their own patch of moss and a bonsai styled tree in accompaniment.

Gokudera looked ahead and saw the blonde sliding the door open, gesturing him to follow, and he did as he was told. Prior to entering the genkan,* Gokudera took off his shoes and placed them inside the getabako* beside Dino's pair of geta. He slipped on a pair of navy slippers prepared for him and was about to pursue the man's footsteps, but realised that Dino had disappeared. Gokudera hurridely felt around for the light switch, not wanting to let his senses harass him again.

A short whistle filled the air and the next moment, all the chōchins hanging from the rooms lit up, giving the house a mysterious aura.

Without noticing, Dino appeared in front of the student and was sliding the shōji* door open to a room with tatami* floors and a hearth, boiling a pot of water. The student took off his slippers as he entered the room with a sigh, slightly annoyed that he had to take them off a moment after he had just worn them. Nonetheless, Gokudera sat down in front of the hearth as the blond prepared the tea. Cautiously, he inspected the room expecting bizarre charms and amulets hanging around the place, but he found that there was nothing out of the ordinary, except for a katana placed on a rack on the wall.

Sounds of sipping broke the silence, as Dino held his steaming teacup with a satisfied expression. Gokudera took that as an ok sign to start drinking his own cup, and reached out for it. He then noticed that the cup had no water in it.

"Um, I think you forgot to put water in," the silver head remarked in an awkward manner.

Dino put down his teacup on the tray. "I haven't forgotten," he stated, taking the already lit kiseru* pipe from the tray and putting it into his mouth with a smile. "Make it yourself."

_So much for the 5 second good image you had…how could I ever think that you'd seriously pour tea for me? A load of bullshit._

The student sighed and let out some steam building up again from the inside. He went to grab the kettle, only to be stopped by the man. "Not like that," he let go of Gokudera's hand and continued, "the way you did it when you were a child."

_What!?_ His confused mind shouted. Gokudera simply had no clue of what to do.

The blond raised an eyebrow. "So you really don't have any of **those** memories." He blew smoke out from his pipe and it circled around him like a playful spirit. "Like this," as he said this, Dino opened his palm and a coil of water circled above it.

Though his mind was denying the scenery before him, Gokudera couldn't help but feel a connection with the water writhing above Dino's palm.

"Come on, that's as easy as closing your eyes," Dino smirked in a ridiculing manner, though the mockery seemed to be completely useless against Gokudera. The student got up abruptly, not able to put up with anything anymore. Way too many things had happened today.

"Sorry, I just remembered that I had something I...needed...to do." _Which really isn't a lie. _With the thought in mind, Gokudera confidently turned his back on the man, but then as he did, he spun back instinctively to receive something between his hands. The student opened his eyes and saw the tip of a katana, with the wielder being Dino. The sword rang like the chime of a bell, as the blonde lunged at him again, and Gokudera barely dodged it.

"Hey! Stop it! I mean seriously, what did I do to you!? Just because I got a litt-"Dino was suddenly at his back and he knew he wouldn't be able to escape the attack.

Gokudera braced himself for the pain, but found that it never came.

There was the steady sound of something cracking, and he looked behind to see a tree curling its gaunt fingers around the katana as if constricting it, and a moment later, cleanly broke it into two.

"Just as I thought; you're a half, and a powerful one that is." Dino had returned to his spot in front of the hearth, and was submissively puffing on his pipe as if nothing had happened.

"What the fuck are you talking about!? What is this!? Why did you try to fucking kill me!!?" Gokudera shouted at the blonde, desperate for answers. There were countless things he felt he didn't know, and the questions were heavily weighing down on him like unequal scales.

Dino breathed out the smoky spirit again but this time, it seemed to run away from his presence. "The answer's in your blood. You can't reject it nor can you try to get rid of it. The truth will forever run through your veins." The student's brow was furrowed, clearly showing his confusion and the blond sighed, deciding to dump his metaphorical phrase and be blunt. "To put it simply, you're a child made between a human and yōkai. You have an exceptional ability which involves being able to control nature at your own will." He put his pipe down in a tired manner. "That's all I wanted to say, you can go now if you want to."

_...child made between a human and...yōkai...? _Though the truth may have been revealed to him, Gokudera felt that it hardly cleared any of his questions, but in fact create more. _Why didn't they tell me? Why didn't I realise earlier that I had this...ability? Did they leave me...because of this truth? Why the fuck won't someone tell me!!?_

"Do you think I'd go after you telling me all this!? How do you know all this!??" His breathing and heartbeat were pacing themselves, as if they were having a competition to see who was faster.

The blonde closed his eyes and tapped his head. "I can see fragments of the future in my dreams."

Gokudera knew that there was no point in denying his words. There was steam floating up from his cup.

"See? You can do it."

The student was about to say something, but suddenly Dino put his hand up towards Gokudera and wrote a kanji in the air.

_'Sleep'_

The man caught the limp body of the silver head and lay him gently on the floor. He then walked up to a mirror hung up on the wall and knocked on it twice. "I did what you asked."

The mirror rippled and as it did, it showed a person's face. A person would have mistaken it for a normal reflection if it had not been for the small antler like horns on the reflections' head and the scales on the face.

"Thanks...oh shit, I think Romario's found out about the illusion. See you tomorrow, my human twin."

Dino bowed his head. "Goodnight, Lord."

* * *

**Note from Yuhazaki:**

I totally got the 'broken wing tending' information off the net==" (Credits to duckpolice organization ) But everything else is original I can guarantee^^

* * *

**Notes:**

*_Obento: _written as「お弁当」and is a single portion takeout or home packed meal common in Japanese cuisine

_*Chōchin: _written as「提灯」and is a frame of split bamboo wound in a spiral. Paper or silk protects the flame from the wind

_*Yume: _written as「夢」and means a 'dream'

_*Bonsai: _written as「盆栽」and is the art of aesthetic miniaturization of trees or of developing woody or semi-woody plants shaped as trees, by growing them in containers. Cultivations include techniques for shaping, watering, and re-potting in various styles of containers. (In this story, I have used the different shaping techniques on normal sized trees, which you don't normally do)

_*Genkan:_ written as「玄関」and are traditional Japanese entryway areas for a house, apartment or building

_*Getabako: _written as「下駄箱」and is a Japanese shoe cupboard, usually situated in the 'genkan,' an entryway or porch of the house

_*Shōji: w_ritten as「障子」and is a door, window or room divider consisting of translucent paper over a frame of wood which holds together a sort of grid of wood or bamboo

_*Tatami: w_ritten as「畳」and are mats of a traditional type in Japanese flooring. It is usually made of rice straw to form the core, with a covering of woven soft rush straw and are made in uniform sizes

_*Kiseru: _written as「煙管」and is an old style of Japanese smoking pipe. It is typically made out of metal on the ends (the mouth piece and bowl,) with a shaft typically made out of bamboo

[Info from Wiki]


	7. Four Fruits

_**Chapter 6**_

_-Four Fruits-

* * *

_

_So it's tonight…when the Tengu has to take flight…_

_Mixed emotions coiled like multicoloured threads around his heart, wrapping it tightly when he thought about the consequences of his actions, but loosening when he imagined the night being over. Unlike the cheerless expression on the yōkai's face, the town below him was thriving with spirit and pulsating with energy as the creatures chattered to each other about the wonders of the human world._

_There were those who wanted to stay in the human world, those who plotted mischievous schemes on scaring the 'little humans,' while others saw it as an opportunity to meet up with old friends. Usually for him, he would have gone with Ry__ou__hei and met up with his fellow yōkais, drank a couple of bottles of sake* while exchanging stories and then farewelled them, hopping into the last opening of the gateway until another eclipse should come. However, this time was going to be different. He could feel his inner cogwheels turning as each second passed…each second till they found out and gave him the order to meet up at the Trinisette._

"_There you are my lord!"_

_The voice made his lips curve to one side in discontent. It was his servant, Romario._

"_And I thought that illusion was pretty good…" The blonde clicked his tongue, even though knowing the fact that the servant had never failed to see through his illusions. One time, the yōkai had even tried setting up an illusion with young, sexy-looking woman beckoning him at his feet, but Romario had simply declined the offers in a polite manner and successfully caught him drinking at the pub instead of working. The lord had concluded that either, his servant didn't have a life, or wasn't interested in women…as in he chose men over women. _

_"If you have the time to be making illusions, you should be going through all those papers on your desk."_ _Romario gestured towards the ocean of strewn papers all over the yōkai's desk and piled up on the ground, making it impossible to walk within a 3 meter radius of the desk without mercilessly crushing important letters and manuscripts._

_All of a sudden the lord put a hand up to silence his servant. There appeared to be the shadow of a figure behind the sh__ō__ji door. "What is it?" _

_What the hell are you asking that for? You already know what he's gonna say…_

_His mind was right. There was no mistaking the silent call of Kami-sama he could sense from the tower._

"_Lord Ryūki* there is an urgent meeting you must attend now at the Trinisette," the figure informed the blonde, sliding the door open to his side whilst kneeling on one knee with his head bowed._

_A long nail dug into the Ryūki's palm as he heard those words. It was far too early for them to have realised. He had only seen the premonition last night._

"_I'll go now," he remarked, concealing the anxiety within his voice as he heard the door close. Only after making sure that there was no presence other than himself and Romario he spoke to his servant in a hushed tone._

"_Prepare it immediately Romario."_

_The servant bowed, adjusting his 'spectacles' with a worried expression. "As you wish my lord."_

_How long has it been since I've last changed to my real form? Maybe 100 years? Or 200?_

_But whether 100 years or 1000 years passed, the Ryūki had no trouble in changing. The blonde jumped up onto the ledge of the deck with light feet, and then let himself freely fall as he spread his arms. _

_A moment later, a gold dragon appeared rattling its scales in ache, as his muscles started waking up from their long sleep. But there was no time to be grumbling about sore muscles and the Ryūki started heading towards a white speck in the distance.

* * *

_

Gokudera wanted the clock to stop moving on and make him leave behind the one he cared about the most.

He wanted to go back to the time when he texted Yamamoto everyday to wake up, when he saw Yamamoto's grin that he loved and hated so much, when the two held hands with blushing faces…_why had everything disappeared so quickly?_

_He probably feels the same thing._

_We won't ever be the same without all four of us at the rooftop…_

He looked at the mobile in his hand. The unfinished message was expectantly shining brightly on the screen as if it was looking forward to being finished today. After a few finger pressing on the keys, Gokudera stopped.

On the screen, there was a black box with white writing. It read: **Message sent**.

A small, pathetic laugh came from his mouth. "What the fuck am I doing…?" He grasped the mobile in his hands tightly, trying to suppress the tears wanting to escape from the prison in his eyes.

At times like this, he felt the need to go to that place. That place where everything had a start and an end.

Gokudera chucked on anything he could find, and found himself running up the street, through the school gates and up all those flight of stairs to the roof of the school. He laid his hand on the worn doorknob to find that his whole body was trembling.

_Hurray up and open the door Gokudera! We're all starving!_

"Ok ok baseball idiot," the student remarked automatically, turning the knob so that it squeaked like a mouse being caught onto a trap.

Instantly a ball of yellow fluff attacked his face and Gokudera flung his arms about wildly in an attempt to defend himself. "Get this ball of fluff off me!"

A voice came from above his head. "Hibird, its fine."

The bird flapped its small wings, flying away from the silver head and onto the finger of the brown head sitting on the platform built on the rooftop, where students could gaze out across the town.

"Always sorry about that Gokudera-kun," Tsuna remarked, shaking his finger disapprovingly at Hibird who just cocked his head.

"I think I'm more than used to it by now," the student chuckled while making his way up to the platform and sat beside the brown head, dangling his feet down.

"Somehow we both end up here don't we?"

Gokudera nodded, peering up at the many patterns of white on the sky. Some were speckles while others were long streaks but all of them seemed to belong there.

"Sometimes I hear his voice…and even though he threatens me half the time or tells me that I'm such a herbivore, I can't help but smile…and cry." Tsuna almost whispered the last words, scared that he wouldn't be able to control his emotions. A hand comfortingly gripped his and the brown head smiled. "I know what you mean," the silver head remarked, still gazing up at the sky where the four smiled and two cried under.

"Do you remember when we tried to make Hibari-san eat lunch with us?"

The student chuckled, as the memory bloomed in his mind. "We all got beat to a pulp," Gokudera smirked knowingly, "besides you."

There was a hint of red on Tsuna's cheeks which made the silver head curve his lips. "In the end, we ate together even though Hibari-san slept halfway." Tsuna tried to keep the smile on his face. "I can still remember how blue the sky was that day…almost like today..."

A gentle blow of the wind ruffled his hair and he put his hand up to the white sun.

_Hibari-san are you at peace now? _

_Do you still sometimes think about me? _

_Because I do…

* * *

_

_The Trinisette was a white tower in which important meetings were held with all the Kami, Lords and Masters. No light penetrated its surface and thus the interior was pitch black, with only the use of a few candles to light up the concrete room. There was always a sense of tension in the atmosphere of the room which the Ryūki hated and if it had not been for the premonition, he would have wagged the meeting._

"_Lord Ryūki you are late as usual," a hoarse voice echoed inharmoniously._

_The blonde sighed in the inside, getting irritated. "I'm sorry; it seems that I had to attend to the needs of some very nice looking women."_

"_Lord! This is a serious matter!" There was a loud bang which almost rocked the whole room._

"_Ok ok, don't get your tail twisted." The yōkai waved his hands about melodramatically._

_The voice ignored the Ryūki's comment and proceeded in starting the meeting. "We will commence the meeting now." There was a slight pause and everyone patiently waited, till the voice sounded again. "In the town of Namimori, there has been a report that a yōkai has been seeing its past memories."_

_Spot on as usual old man…_

"_A witness has claimed to have seen the yōkai which we have identified as the Tengu, Yamamoto Takeshi with a human and conversing in such a way that the witness believed that they had possibly known each other before, that is when Yamamoto Takeshi had been a human."_

_Witness?...I didn't see that…_

"_We hereby take the action on the capture of Yamamoto Takeshi for further interroga-"_

"_I, as the Kami of that region would like to personally talk with Yamamoto Takeshi first," a confident voice stated strongly and the blonde hid a small smile. He knew Kami-sama would speak up, but he also knew what the reaction of the yōkai here would be._

_A high pitched cackle filled the room. "And what let him escape?" There were snickers and whispers all round the room but Kami-sama would not falter just yet._

"_No of course not! I me-"_

_The croaky voice got its revenge and cut in curtly. "We cannot allow such a thing, as we all know that you are especially soft to the yōkai in your region, and we absolutely cannot let a yōkai run with its past memories."_

"_But capturing him without warning is inhumane!" Kami-sama shouted desperately, not wanting the Tengu to be hurt in any way._

"_Inhumane?" A merciless laugh could be heard. "We are not humans."_

_A sharp nailed finger extended out from the darkness. "Put him and the Lord under supervision."_

_The Ryūki's eyes were wide with 'surprise.' "Why is that?"_

_There was the sound of a deep sigh. "I know you are friends with Yamamoto Takeshi and you have just enough potential to let him escape."_

_"I see...then let it be," the blonde nodded as his eyes wondered over to Kami-sama._

_What will we do? They will not let their eyes off us even for a second._

_Do you I've been using illusions on Romario for nothing all these centuries? Even though he may just be a servant, he has just enough power as that oldie up there._

_I will trust you to do it Dino._

_Of course. You won't even notice that you're just talking to an illusion._

_Now that is pushing it a little, but I see I have already been deceived. _

_Exactly._

* * *

"Gokudera-kun what're you looking at?" Tsuna turned around on his seat and peered outside the window, catching the attention of the people sitting behind him.

"The dog staring at me in the window," the silver head replied eyeing the creature with intense glares.

"What dog?"

Gokudera frowned in confusion at the brown head's question.

"It's the black one right there which looks like it's constipated or something."

His friend however laughed. "You must have really good vision; I can't see it at all." The student continued to look out into the distance with squinted eyes.

"But it's rig-"

As Gokudera was about to say something, the waiter came to their table holding a plate of apple pie and blueberry muffin. Even though it was indoors and was just a regular café, the waiter had a hat on which resembled a top hat but with a squished top and with a thick strip of orange around the body. The man placed the plates on the table and looked at Tsuna with a smirk before leaving.

_Reborn…what a weird name._

But the thought quickly disappeared from the brown head's mind as he smelt the scent of freshly cooked apple pie. As he was digging his fork into the surface, a piece of cooked apple fell onto the table. Tsuna then thought of something.

"Hibari-san…is just like a red **apple**."

Gokudera felt a piece of muffin go down the wrong hole and quickly forced water down before he started coughing unstoppably.

"He seems all violent and scary outside but inside...he's really caring and kind," Tsuna put the piece of apple on the side of his plate and continued eating pleasantly.

The silver head broke of a piece of the muffin and looked at the spotted surface. "Well I think Yamamoto's just like a **blueberry**."

The piece of pie on Tsuna's fork stopped moving to his mouth and he raised an eyebrow, not imagining that his friend would actually continue talking about such an obscure subject.

"At first he seems the same inside and out but when you get to know him, he's pretty fragile and can collapse under a load of pressure," as he said this, the student glanced at the window and found that the dog had disappeared yet again…_why hadn't he seen it?_

The happenings of last night suddenly hit him.

_You're a child made between a human and yōkai…_

"Gokudera-kun? Are you alright?" Tsuna noticed the colour rushing out of his friend's cheeks.

"I'm fine." Gokudera forced a smile. "I was just thinking what we would be?"

The brown head chuckled. "Hmm, I think Gokudera-kun would be a **pineapple**. Hard and spiky outside but once you get to know him; he's a bright, cheery friend."

"Thanks," he remarked, though somewhere in his heart, he had a feeling he was no longer like that in the inside.

"I think you would be an **apricot**. Soft outside and inside except for the pip, which is like your strong will power to keep walking ahead even if there're blue times, like that day..."

_Like that day when you and I lost something...and you were the one who stood up and guided me out of my ocean of tears...

* * *

_**Notes from Yuhazaki:**

Uwah, this update is late as=="

Now who do you think the witness was? I might choose to reveal it later tho:P

* * *

**Notes:**

_*Sake: _written as「酒」is a Japanese alcoholic beverage made from rice

_*Ryūki_: written as「竜黄 (Original)

[Info from Wiki]


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